Since 1939, inventions such as nylon stockings, twistie ties, and microwave ovens have entered everyday life, not to mention cell phones and the internet. Fifteen presidents have resided in the White House and men have landed on the moon and spent months in space. And it was in 1939 that Harry and Leonard Laibstain established Virginia Furniture Company, a furniture store that would feature prominently in Norfolk for nearly nine decades. The store’s current location is on Granby Street in the NEON District in downtown Norfolk.
After working for 80 years, Leonard retired from the family business at age 95 due to the COVID pandemic. He passed away three years later. His brother, Harry, worked until six weeks before his passing in 2012 at the age of 91.
Second generation Laibstains and first cousins David and Jeff, recently made the decision to close the store’s doors after this successful, 86-year run.
“Jeff and I have been in the business for 40 years,” says David Laibstain, who says he had the good fortune of working alongside and learning from his dad and uncle for more than half that time.
In addition to being grateful for those years with his mentors, David says he’s also appreciative of his wife, Jody, who along with Jeff’s wife, Bonnie, supported them during their entire careers. “They were ‘Saturday widows,’” he says. “Jody’s family was in retail, so she understood, still it was tough when I wasn’t able to join her with friends for Saturday activities.
“She was understanding of all the long hours we worked.”
Bonnie Laibstain, Jeff’s wife, shares the history of Virginia Furniture Company and what the store has meant to generations of customers.
Jewish News: Virginia Furniture Company has been in business for many decades. Do you know what inspired Harry and Leonard Laibstain to start it?
Bonnie Laibstain: Harry, David’s father, was 19 years old and Leonard, Jeff’s father, was only 15 years old when they started Virginia Furniture Company in 1939. They were inspired by cousins in the family who were already in the furniture business and knew it was a good business to get in to.
Have other family members worked for Virginia Furniture Company?
Several cousins worked at the store in their younger years on occasional Saturdays as teenagers for extra pocket money. Richard Miles, who has been retired for a while now, worked for our family business for about 40 years and was like family. He did a terrific job and the customers loved him. I started working at Virginia Furniture at the start of COVID in 2020. It was an extremely busy time because people were home, receiving stimulus checks, and wanted to make changes in their home decor and purchase new furniture. David was out of the store for about four months for health reasons. I jumped in and learned the family furniture business very quickly to help Jeff in David’s absence. I have enjoyed selling and stayed on for nearly six years now.
When did Jeff and David start working for the business?
David and Jeff have both been in the family business full time since 1986 – nearly 40 years.
How did Harry and Leonard share the responsibilities of the business?
Harry did more of the merchandising, while Leonard took care of the financing, accounting, and record keeping.
How have David and Jeff divided up the workload?
The apples don’t fall far from the trees– David took after his father and was sales and merchandising focused, while Jeff took after his father doing all the financing, accounting, and record keeping for the business.
The company has a 4.9-star rating on Google. How have you managed to keep customers so happy?
We have 160 reviews on Google. It’s really not rocket science. Honestly, we just treat people the way we would like to be treated. Customer service is hard to find these days. We truly pride ourselves on excellent customer service!
How have changes to the economy impacted furniture sales? Have you felt the impact of tariffs on business?
Inflation has made it more difficult for our customers to make purchases and make payments. In addition, people buying online from competitors has also made an impact on our business.
What prompted the decision to close the store?
After 86 years as a family business, and working six days a week, we have decided now is a good time to retire. We all have many plans to look forward to in the future.
What are David’s and Jeff’s plans for the future?
David has turned a hobby of refurbishing and refinishing vintage furniture into a
business. Jeff and I are looking forward to traveling and doing many things that we haven’t had the time to do before now.
Anything else you’d like to share with the readers of Jewish News?
We have been serving the community for over eight decades. Several generations of families have been with us for many years. We know Harry and Leonard would be very proud of us for all we have done to carry on the family legacy into our 86th year.
